Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative political bloc has been given a boost by the government's 480 billion bank (650 billion dollars) rescue plan, a key opinion poll released Wednesday showed.

The weekly Forsa opinion poll, published in Stern magazine and on the RTL television station, showed Merkel's Christian Democrats and their Bavarian-based associate party, the Christian Social Union, gained 2 per cent to hit 37 per cent.

The package of measures "was exactly what the people wanted to hear and what they expected," said Forsa chief Manfred Guellner.

However, the Social Democrats (SDP), which are the junior members of Merkel's grand coalition government, remained unchanged at 24 per cent.

This is despite the key role played by Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, a member of the SPD, in drawing up the package.

The Social Democrats also failed to gain ground in the poll despite the party unveiling on the weekend a new party leadership.

This included announcing that the nation's popular Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier would head up the SPD's election campaign next year as Chancellor candidate.

However, the Left Party continued to pick up support against the backdrop of the financial crisis, rising by 1 point to 13 per cent in the Forsa poll.

The liberal Free Democrats fell 1 point to 12 per cent while the Green Party also lost 1 per cent 9 per cent. (dpa)